Dumping-door-latching link and controlling means therefor



Sept. 15, 1925. 1,553,612

H. s. HART DUMPING DOOR IZJA'ICHING LINK AND-CONTROLLING MEANS THEREFORFiled Jan. 5, 1922 Patented Sept. 15 1925 UNITED STATES HARRY s. HART,or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DUMPING-DOOR-LATCHING LINK AND CONTROLLING MEANS THEREFOR.

Application filed January 3, 1922 Serial No. 526,590. I

To all whom it may GOILC'GWLV.

Be it known that I, HARE}? S. HART, a citizen of the United States,residin at Chicago, in the county of Cook and tate of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Dumping-Door- LatchingLinks and Controlling Means Therefor, of which the following is aspeci-, fication.

This invention relates to means for latching the cargo-discharging doorsof dump cars, as well as means for controlling the same to preventaccidental unlatching, and means for positively unlatching them when itis desiredto discharge the contents of the car.

One object of the invention is to provide a latchin means in the form ofa link that may be hmged at one end to the car in position to act as asling for engaging over a supporting projection on the door and holdingthe door in closed position.

Another object is to provide such alink.

with a keeper movable into and out of the path of the link in order toprevent accidental displacement of the link and release of the door.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means for displacingthe link from door supporting position by developing a camming actionagainst the link.

Further objects relate to the embodiment of the invention in simple,efiicient, and durable form, as well as its adaptation to an arrangementin which a plurality of links employed for sustaining the door arebrought under a single releasing control.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawing, but this disclosure is to be taken as merely illustrative ofthe invention, the subjoined claims being relied upon to determine itsscope.

In said drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a dump cartowhich the invention is applied, and Figure 2 is an end elevation ofthe door latching and releasing mechanism with the appurtenant parts ofthe car and door shown in section.

Figures 3 and 4 are front'and end elevations of the latching andreleasing mechanism on an enlarged scale.

5 represents a portion of the frame of a railway dump car which has adischarging doorway 6 and a door 7. It is customary to hinge doorssuchas 'K at some suitable point, such as at 8, so that they will opendownwardly under the superposed load. of

cargo to be discharged, and to secure the free end of the door by alatch engaging wlth some projecting portion of the door, such, forinstance, as a cleat 9 which imposes the load of the swinging door uponthe latch I The present invention aims to provide an improvedconstruction of doorvsupporting latch, and, accordingly, employs a link10 preferably mounted upon a side wall of the car in position to swingoutwardly therefrom, as, for instance, through the medium of a bracket11. which embraces the upper transverse bar of the link, the free endofthelink depending inposition to engage beneath the cleat 9, and sosustain the door. By bevelingthe 'cleat9, as shown at'9 the link isautomatically displaced bythe closing of the door, and returnsimmediately, by

gravity, into engagement with the cleat and thereby develops anautomatic latching of the door.

In order to prevent unintentional displacement of the link, the keeper12, pivoted at 13 and swinging across the path of movement of the link10, normally overlies one vertical leg of the link and holds the link insupporting relation to the cleat 9. Keeper 12 may be readily withdrawnthrough the medium of its lug 14.

For conveniently displacing the link from supporting relation to thecleat 9, when it is desired to dump the car, a cam shaft 15 is mountedbehind the link 10 through the medium of straps 16 and 17 in which it isadapted to turn, and said shaft carries a displacing cam 18 in positionto bear against counterbalance for the shaft and thereby keepsthedisplacing cam 18 withdrawn, so that the link is free to return bygravity to latching position when displaced by the closing of the door.

When it is desired to use more than one link for sustaining the door, assuggested in Figure 1, the cleat 9 and other parts already described aresimply duplicated, except as to the shaft 15, which is adapted to servein common for both links, being provided with a second set of mountingstraps 16, 17, and an additional displacing cam18. i

I claim: g 1. In combination with a dump car and its cargo dischargingdoor, a gravity actuated door supporting sling mounted upon a face ofthe car with freedom to swing perpendicularly to saidfface into and. outof engagement with the door, and means for displacing said slingrelatively to the door, comprising a shaft interposed between theslingand said face of thecar and a cam carried by said shaft and actinguponsaid sling.

2. In combination with a dump car and its cargo discharging door, agravity actuated'door supporting sling mounted upon a face of the carwith freedom to swing perpendicularly to said face into and outofengagement with the door, and means for displacing said slingrelatively to the door, comprising a. shaft interposed between the slingand said face of the car and a cam carried by said shaft and acting uponsaid sling; said shaft having a pendent crank arm; and said cam beingWithdrawn from displacing relation to thejsling by the gravitation ofthe crank arm. Y

In combinationwith a dumpcar and its cargo discharging door, a pluralityof pendent slings mounted upon a face of the car, swinging outwardlytherefrom to admit a portion of the door above them, and returning toengage beneath the door, and means serving in common to displace saidslings, comprising a shaft extending between all of said slings and theface of the car upon which they are mounted, and cams car ried by theshaft in position to enter into displacing impingement against therespective slings.

4;. In a dump car, a cargo discharging door, Ia pendent sling mountedupon a wall of the car inposition to engage the door to hold it inclosed position and displaceable perpendicularlyto said wall to releasethe door, and a keeper and a displacer separately movable andindependently operable respectively to resist and to enforce suclidiseplacement of the sling.

In a dump car, a cargo discharging door apendent sling mounted upon awall of the car in position to engage the door to hold it in closedposition and displaceable perpendicularly to said wall to release thedoor, and a keeper and a displacer alternatively operable respectivelyto resist and to enforce such displacement of the sling; said keeper anddisplacer being adapted to as sume and automatically retain positionswhich leave the sling free to' swing independently of both of them.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 29th day of December, 1921.

I HARRYS. HART.

